(TNS) — Doug Reynolds didn't like the feeling of resignation that swept over him as he learned of one horrific mass shooting after another.

Twenty-six people had lost their lives in the house of the Lord in November, gunned down during Sunday services at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

A few weeks prior, 58 others were shot dead and 489 injured at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas.

He thought of the dozens killed at Orlando's Pulse nightclub a year before that, and realized that although he couldn't stop the pace of mass shootings, he might be able to help in another way.

"It was kind of cumulative. The recurring theme always is that people are dying because they’re bleeding to death," said Reynolds, 58, of Farmington.

"It just makes sense that the next step is to try to prevent that. It’s unfortunate that this is the world we live in, but you know, you’ve got to be prepared for it. You can’t put your head in the sand."

Barb Smith, a registered nurse from Webberville, was similarly moved.

She thought about how many people were saved in the Las Vegas attack because of bystanders who acted quickly and knew how to stop life-threatening bleeding.

"It’s the No. 1 reason people die in a mass-casualty incident," said Smith, who is the head of the trauma program at Beaumont Hospital, Farmington Hills. "It’s a death that can be prevented. … People can bleed out in a matter of seconds."

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